


Realization

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: D-Stabilized, Gen, Valerie deserves better, revelation fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-29 21:05:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10144133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: Valerie thought she knew ghosts- knew Phantom.But after seeing that Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius were one and the same, she doesn't know anything anymore.





	1. New Information, New Realizations

**Author's Note:**

> Aaah, nothing like rewatching D-Stablized and realizing that Phantom Planet is even worse because it cut off Valerie's storyline.

" _A deal's a deal. You helped me save Dani, you can now have me back as your captive."_

Valerie's shoes clicked on the floor in her room as she paced back and forth.

Human/ghost hybrids existed.

Vlad Masters, the mayor she'd admired, heck, she'd loved, for his kindness and generosity- he was a filthy ghost that was willing to melt down a girl to goo. A ghost girl, which should have made her evil, but...

She wasn't. She'd saved Valerie's life, knowing full well Valerie could take her hostage. She had a sense of humor, she was a good fighter, she had a (fair) grudge against Plasmius.

She was related to Phantom.

How could that work? Danielle was... some kind of experiment? From Danielle and Plasmius's words, clearly, Danielle was closely linked to Plasmius and Phantom. They shared the last name, and claimed to be cousins. Had they been related when they were alive?

But Danielle was still part human...

Valerie dropped unto her bed, curling the sheets into her palms as she balled up her fists. Her nails dug into the fabric, and her eyes fell closed.

Danielle could fool her ghost tracker by becoming a human. She was unstable before, but Phantom stabilized her, and that might not be a trait of all half-humans as Plasmius seemed just fine...

Was _he_ a ghost, or a human? Danielle was just a little girl with ghost powers. She was the one to suggest fooling 'Danny' by turning invisible, and her giggle afterwards was simple human joy. She was clearly familiar with Phantom, and he with her- on top of that, he'd adopted an almost brotherly stance when it came to her. Valerie had never seem him so distraught before, but when Danielle melted...

He was completely, utterly human. She couldn't hear an ounce of that smug superiority in his voice he always spoke with when he fell in front of Danielle.

" _I... failed you._ "

Ghosts didn't understand failure. They blamed others, they flew away and plotted and ruined and destroyed, but they didn't tear themselves up for mistakes. They didn't have family...

Which brought that thought to her mind again. How were the Phantoms related? By blood? They certainly looked similar... if she could shrink Phantom down and give him longer hair, they would practically be twins.

Danielle was only partly a ghost, and was one of the more complex ghosts Valerie had ever met, despite only having known her for less than a day. She was sarcastic and she was childish, but more like a normal little girl would be then a ghost would. She understood that she was in trouble, and didn't plead or beg, at least until she heard Vlad's name. She trusted Valerie when they escaped, not immediately fleeing once they were out of the manor, even after Valerie had turned her in to that... _monster_ Plasmius.

Phantom and Plasmius had some kind of history, it seemed. Both Phantoms. Danielle had bitingly called him 'dad', spitting the word like poison. In fact, the older Phantom and Plasmius had fought quite a bit, hadn't they?

She'd taken note of the fights, and had even briefly considered allying with Plasmius to take down Phantom before turning on the ghost. The enemy of my enemy, after all. But she'd decided he was too malevolent in the end, too violent, too likely to turn on HER.

Valerie reached for her notes, rifling through them. She had two notebooks devoted to Phantom, but looked for her Plasmius notes instead. He was seen in public more rarely, and thus, notes were far more valuable.

PLASMIUS

- _Rather masochistic_

_-Green vulture assistants with odd accents (possibly russian?)_

_-Pink energy (higher level?)_

_-Fights with Phantom, usually when seen_

_-Always taunts Phantom, Phantom replies in like_

_-Shows sense of familiarity_

_-Nearly Phantom's equal_

_-Calls Phantom 'Daniel'- possible insulting term, Phantom responds aggressively_

"So, if Plasmius is Masters... then it's possible that Masters knew Phantom before he died." Valerie muttered to herself, shifting through more of the notes. "Is there anyone in town that knew?"

Clearly, Phantom had. Danielle had as well. Danielle called Phantom Danny, but Valerie had always preferred 'ghost' or 'Phantom'. Danny was too humanizing.

" _A deal's a deal. You helped me save Dani, you can now have me back as your captive._ "

Ghosts weren't that kind. Ghosts didn't keep their promises. Ghosts didn't even _make_ promises without instant rewards.

Wait.

If Danielle was half human, then what if...?

What if Phantom...?

Valerie ripped through her notes on Phantom, glancing at the pictures on her bulletin board.

- _Uses Fenton gear (to not wear self out?)_

He said he'd always kept tabs on the Fentons, that they could be 'ghost helpers'.

He'd slipped, almost said something earlier.

" _My d-Jack Fenton..._ "

He was clearly close to them.

Everyone knew that Jack Fenton was one of mayor Master's biggest supporters. Something to do with them being old friends. Danny had never been too supportive of that, always looked grumpy about it actually-

Danny Fenton. Didn't like mayor Masters, but his family was close to him. Hadn't Vlad singled out Danny after becoming mayor? Why didn't Danny like him?

What was their bad blood?

Vlad... Danny...

No.

That was impossible.

Danny Fenton was a sweet, caring, if somewhat clumsy boy. She had left their almost-relationship on good terms with him. He wouldn't...

But...

Phantom nor Fenton liked Mayor Masters. Vlad showed a kind of teasing familiarity to Phantom, called him 'Daniel.'

Valerie stared at the the newspaper clipping shoved in between her notes. Phantom was grinning from the black-and-white picture, giving a peace sign. She grabbed a pen, scribbled in his hair.

Her arch-rival disappeared, and her friend grinned at her.

Her heart sunk to her shoes.


	2. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valerie seeks Phantom out. 
> 
> Or, rather, she seeks Danny out.

He was simply floating there. Valerie had gunned him down for less.

Phantom was playing with a flower, twirling the stem between his fingers. His stomach was facing the ground, and he wasn’t paying attention to anything else, she could tell.

“Phantom.” She tried to speak calmly, but when he whirled around, she could suddenly see it. The curve or his face, the way his cheeks sort of jutted out, the playful twinkle in his eyes- she didn’t know how she hadn’t caught it before.

“Huntress.” He replied. His voice wasn’t angry, wasn’t smug. It was merely cautious- he probably wasn’t sure where they stood now.

“ _Tomorrow, it’s game on.”_

_“I’ll be ready to play.”_

They had left on civil terms, but that had been before Valerie’s worldview had been flipped on its head. The real question now was… why? Why had Danny, one of her friends, one of her only friends now, someone she had almost dated, someone she had cared about and who had cared about her… why had he ruined her life?

_“I know you’re angry, but that’s not my dog, and I’m sorry about whatever happened to you. Not all ghosts are evil.”_

She hadn’t thought about it much before. She’d always just looked at it as though he was mocking her, trying to trick her, but he had told the truth about Plasmius. In fact, once she’d thought back, she was most often the one throwing the first punch.

“Phantom…” She sucked in a deep breath, pushing away the urge to draw her gun. “I know.”

“Know what?” His tone dropped from wary to a sort of cautious curiosity, and she could see a mask build on his face.

“About Plasmius. Masters. Both, I guess. That they’re the same.” The mask cracked nearly instantly, and horror flooded unto the ghost’s face.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Her tone wasn’t questioning. It was a flat statement, and Phantom swallowed.

“Yeah. I knew. Did he tell you…?”

“I saw.” Valerie said curtly. A bit of the fear leaked away, but Phantom was still on the defensive, she could tell.

“Oh. Well, I tried to tell you he was bad, but I guess you just had to see for yourself.” He shrugged. “Why did you want to tell me?” Every inch of her screamed not to trust the ghost, not to let him know her suspicions, but she just wanted the lies to be over.

“Because I figured it out.” She paused, gathering all the courage she possessed before continuing. “…Danny.”

He didn’t react for a moment. “Oh, so you finally decided to use my first name? Does that mean you-” His face paled. “…Oh.”

“I figured it out, Fenton.” She said, slowly sitting down on her sled. Her legs dangled off the side, and he straightened up, floating in front of her. “I’m surprised you kept it secret this long.”

“Nobody bothered to find out.” He said simply, crossing his legs and sitting in midair. “ _I’m_ surprised how easily you’re taking this.”

“Actually?” A smile stole across her face before she could stop it. “I’m freaking out inside.”

“Makes sense.” He grinned, before sighing. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to say it again- I really never meant to hurt you. That dog wasn’t mine, and after that, it’s all been misunderstandings.”

“Why do you help the town? How did it happen?” Valerie’s fingers curled around the edge of her sled as he bobbed up and down, thinking.

“I help the town because… well, let’s put it this way. There are good people and bad people, right?” She nodded. “Well, there’s good ghosts and bad ghosts as well. It’s usually the same high-level ghosts that come and bug the humans.”

She noticed he said ‘the humans’ instead of 'us’, and quietly tucked it away. She’d think more on it later.

“Cujo… the dog? He wasn’t bad, he was just following his instinct, looking for something.” Danny took a deep breath. “I can’t ask him, as he didn’t talk, but from what I can tell… you know ghosts are dead people, right? Or dead animals.” She nodded again. “Well…” He swallowed, fiddling with his fingers. “You probably won’t want to hear this.”

“Tell me.” Urgency filled her tone.

“Well, when Axiom switched from guard dogs to cameras and guards… well… they didn’t want the dogs anymore, and…” Phantom trailed off, and Valerie’s heart clenched.

“No. They wouldn’t. You’re lying!”

Phantom tensed, unfolding his legs as she reached for her gun. He moved as if ready to flee, and for the first time she realized she was ready to punish him for telling the truth. Sucking in a deep breath, she let her hand fall. An audible sigh of relief came from Phantom, but he didn’t relax.

“There are good people… there are bad people. Same with ghosts, like I said. I help those who need it, and help get rid of those who want to harm humans.”

There, he did it again- referred to himself as other than human. She heard Fenton’s voice now, the way he stumbled across his words when he was nervous, and ruffled his hair when he couldn’t find the right words.

But… he wasn’t human. She’d known Dani wasn’t just a ghost nearly from the start, but Phantom… she’d built him up as a monster, manipulative, tricky. Not the cute, dorky kid she’d liked in school.

It didn’t match up, but it was clear as day. A puzzle that didn’t fit together.

“You call us humans. What does that make you… Danny?” It sounded wrong, referring to Phantom so familiarly. A wistful smile darted across the ghost’s face.

“The ghosts have a name for what I am. It’s really, really rare. Vlad and I- and Dani I guess- are called halfas. Half humans, half ghost. We don’t really fit into either world.” He paused. “I was the one to turn on my parent’s portal. I was caught in the blast when it opened.”

“What… who is Dani?” The question slipped out, and Danny tensed even more, gloves curling around his arms.

“It’s… kind of complicated.” Curiosity burned in her chest, but from the flash of pain that darted across his eyes at the question, she could tell it was off limits. Valerie stood up, and Phantom followed until they were eye-level.

“So. Where does this leave us?”

“Hopefully, you not killing me.” He smiled weakly, holding out a hand. “Truce? It's all I've ever really wanted."

“All this time?”

He kept smiling, but it was almost sheepish.

“Yeah.”

Valerie blinked slowly, mind whirling.

“And… and you almost dated me. Even though I was trying to kill you.” He actually grinned.

“Yeah, I hoped… well, maybe I could show you Phantom wasn’t a bad guy. One day.” She grasped his hand, shaking it firmly.

“I didn’t want you getting hurt by my ghost hunting.”

“Ditto.” He nodded at her, and all of a sudden, a laugh bubbled up in her throat. She couldn’t help it- it spilled out, and before she knew it, both of them were practically in hysterics.

“All of this because of a stupid misunderstanding?” She managed to say, and he nodded.

“Yeah, but… we’re good?” Sparks of hope danced in his eyes, and for the first time, Valerie found herself willingly, genuinely smiling at a ghost.

Not just a ghost, but Danny- her Danny.  
“We’re good.”


End file.
